


Strawberry Boy

by strawberryyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: EXO - Freeform, EXO Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Soft Baekhyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 06:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15924965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryyeol/pseuds/strawberryyeol
Summary: You never took “don’t work in customer service” seriously until you started your new job.Luckily for you, the vast majority of the customers were calm and collected, walking around the SMTown Gift Shop quickly and calmly before leaving with whatever newly-released merchandise they’d just purchased, but there were just some that seemed to be trying their best to get on your nerves.However, after a particularly trying day at work, hanging out with Byun Baekhyun somehow seemed to make everything okay.





	Strawberry Boy

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone!! this is the first fanfiction i’ve written in three years, and this is my first ever exo fanfiction!! i’ve been wanting to write something for quite a while, and, after a flash of inspiration and a few hours of writing, i’ve come up with this! so, i hope you enjoy this fanfic where byun baekhyun is the softest boy and everything is super warm and happy!!
> 
> as my best friend has dedicated countless fanfics to me, it seems only fitting to dedicate this one to her. so, this one’s for you claudia!! thank you for helping to inspire me to start writing again!!
> 
> also, if anyone is having trouble trying to picture some of the places mentioned in this fanfic (e.g. the sm gift shop / café) i hope these two links help you to visualise it better!!:  
> smtown gift shop link: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=hp&ei=bRyNW7yFI4bYaZKNl-AO&q=smtown+coex+artium+gift+shop&oq=smtown+coex+artium+gift+shop&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3...1608.21251..21697...2.0..0.156.1333.23j1......0....1j5.......0..0j0i13j0i24j30i10j33i10.H48TzFefl7c
> 
> smtown café link: https://www.google.com/search?q=smtown+coex+artium+cafe&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjA5NmC357dAhXCwRoKHcDtDsEQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=smtown+coex+artium+cafe&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3...68094.70697..71208...0.0..0.57.589.13......0....1.........0j33i10j30i10.FuahjojYlbU&ei=gxyNW4CXIsKDa8Dbu4gM
> 
> thank you so much for reading and supporting my first ever exo fanfiction!! i hope you enjoy it!!
> 
> — anna

You never took “don’t work in customer service” seriously until you started your new job.

Sure, there were definitely plus sides to working at a huge tourist attraction in the middle of beautiful Seoul, but the positivities of your job were sometimes a little difficult to find after a long day of dealing with copious amounts of k-pop fangirls.

Luckily for you, the vast majority of them were calm and collected, walking around the SMTown Gift Shop quickly and calmly before leaving with whatever newly-released merchandise they’d just purchased, but there were just _some_ that seemed to be trying their best to get on your nerves. Whether it was shouting, crying, or even screaming - when you walked to work in the crisp winter air every morning, a small part of you was dreading what kind of scene you’d have to deal with today.

You’d often have to remind yourself that you were once a hardcore k-pop fan too; in fact, as much as you found it somewhat embarrassing to admit, you still had a shelf in your bedroom dedicated to the albums and other items of merchandise from various k-pop groups that had stolen your heart during your teenage years - sometimes you still had to pinch yourself to remember that you worked at the gift shop in the SMTown building, and therefore you would often see idols strolling through after a long day’s practice for whatever comeback was coming next.

However, despite the amount of stress that came with it, for you, the time of a new comeback was by far your favourite time to be working behind the till in the gift shop. It put a huge smile on your face to see all the happy fans walking around the shop, excitingly pointing at merchandise of their bias, or talking to whoever they were with about why they loved their bias group so much. You secretly hoped every day would be like that. However, as you heard thundering footsteps approaching the till you were manning, you weren’t so hopeful.

A girl, probably around 22 or 23 years old slammed her hands down on the desk in front of you, huffing and puffing after running to you from the other side of the shop. It was safe to say she looked less than happy. You took a deep breath, knowing that she wasn’t going to be an easy customer to deal with.

“Hello madam”, you said in your calmest ‘customer service’ voice, “How can I help you today?”

“It’s gone,” she almost growled, “It’s not _there_!!” You furrowed your eyebrows at her statement.

“Sorry, I’m not sure I understand - _what’s_ not _where_?” You asked, already starting to feel somewhat exasperated.

“Baekhyun’s poster!” She yelled at you, as if it was obvious why she was angry. You let out a shaky breath - you knew what this was about. EXO, who just so happened to be your favourite k-pop group, had just had their long-awaited comeback - it had been over a year since their previous full-length album was released, so it was no surprise to you that that all the merchandise had quickly sold out in the gift shop. Many other people had been in this girl’s situation - whatever merchandise of their bias that they had wanted had sold out - but, you recalled, they’d all been significantly calmer than this customer. You knew this was going to be a tough one; you took a deep breath and hoped that she wouldn’t react too badly to what you were about to tell her.

“I’m so sorry - unfortunately all the Baekhyun posters have sold out due to their popularity. However, there are several posters of the other members still available if you would like?” You hoped this compromise would work, but you realised otherwise as you saw the anger in her eyes. ‘Oh no,’ you thought. ‘Here we go.’

“Yah!!!!” She yelled at you, startling many other customers in the shop, causing them to swiftly turn around to witness the scene going on behind them. “Are you telling me that you have no Baekhyun posters at all?! Do you understand how much I need this poster to finish my Baekhyun collection?! I want that poster!!!!” She was now shouting at the top of her lungs - everyone else in the shop was watching, either amused or disgusted at this sudden outbreak over something as trivial as a poster.

“Again, I’m very sorry, but unfortunately we won’t have another batch of Baekhyun posters until early next week - all I can do for now is offer you another member’s poster or ask you to wait until next week when we have more posters.” You told her, managing to stay calm. Luckily for you, you noticed the security guards around the shop watching the situation carefully, ready to step in if the situation escalated any further.

“Listen to me!” She violently pointed her finger at you as she said this, “I need that poster _today_ , and you’re going to get it for me.” Your eyes widened in shock; you’d never had a customer this angry and demanding before.

“I’m sorry, I can’t-“, you began, but she grabbed your wrist.

“Yes, you _can_.” She insisted, fire in her eyes. You desperately looked over to the security guards for help, and they nodded to each other before marching over to prise the girl’s strong grip off your wrist and direct her out of the shop. She looked up at them in anger, saying, “Yah!!!! I’m not finished yet! Let me get my poster!!!!”, but her efforts were useless, as she was marched out of the shop, shouting at you and the security guards on the way out. You apologised to the customers who had been in the queue behind her, and carried on as usual, a little shaken.

The rest of your day at work passed smoothly, the other customers were calm and polite, offering peaceful and reasonable replies if you told them that the item they wanted was out of stock; you were thankful for this - you knew you weren’t ready to handle another customer like that girl for a long time.

You had plenty of distractions during the rest of your day at work, though; you saw Taeyeon and Yoona walk through the shop, fans staring at them in awe as they strolled through to look at the new SNSD merchandise on sale. The two offered you a friendly smile; you’d met them before, and you felt like you could consider them your friends. Later on in the day, Jungwoo, Johnny, and Lucas came in to see the new NCT merchandise displayed on the wall, and they came over to chat to you for a bit before leaving again to proceed with their dance practice.

The end of your shift approached quickly; it was late afternoon, around 6pm, but as it was in the middle of November, it was dark outside, and the only light offered was the light of streetlights and the light from the headlights of cars driving past. You loved this time of year - you loved to be able to go home and get warm and cosy under blankets, watching a new variety show or k-drama, or, recently, listening to EXO’s new album. It brought you so much joy to listen to new music from your favourite band, and you counted yourself so lucky to have the opportunity to see the members occasionally when they walked through the gift shop, or when you saw them around the SMTown building.

You finally handed over your shift to one of your colleagues, a girl around 20 years old. Thanking her and saying goodbye, you grabbed your phone and water bottle, and walked into the staff room behind the gift shop. You put your water bottle and your phone in your bag, and grabbed your warm winter coat from the coat hook - you were incredibly glad you had remembered your coat today; Seoul was starting to get unbearably cold, and although, luckily for you, the gift shop had heating, the contrast between the warmth of the SM building and the crisp, cold air outside was something you did not enjoy experiencing every day.

Walking out of the door on the other side of the staff room, you felt a content warmth settle over you. Despite how difficult your job could be sometimes, you sincerely loved it; from seeing the happy faces of the excited customers, to being able to talk to some of your favourite idols, you counted yourself lucky to be able to work in such an amazing place.

You were now in a lobby area surrounded by elevators - sometimes you found it almost surreal; for years, you’d only ever seen this room through videos that k-pop fans had uploaded on twitter of their favourite idols piling into the elevators after a long day of practice through the glass windows separating the fans from the idols. Now, you were on the other side of the glass, standing where the likes of EXO, SNSD, Red Velvet, NCT, Shinee, and TVXQ had stood hundreds of times before you. Even though you were alone, somehow, knowing that so many people had been there before, you didn’t feel alone at all. You smiled to yourself as you pressed the button to call the elevator, and you waited, rocking backwards and forwards on your heels as you waited for the elevator to arrive.

The doors opened, and you stepped in, excited that you were finally on your way home; you had your entire evening planned out - you were going to get a takeaway and snuggle under the blankets on your sofa while watching a variety show that EXO were guests on that you’d been meaning to watch for a while.

However, just as you were about to press the button in the elevator to take you to the ground floor, you heard a familiar voice shout your name. You weren’t sure if you imagined it or not, so you furrowed your eyebrows and squinted out of the doors of the elevator to see someone jogging towards the lift. As the person approached, your face broke into a smile as you realised that it was the man who had inadvertently caused all the problems with the girl earlier: Byun Baekhyun. You giggled as you saw how cutely he was jogging, carrying a bag of clothes that he’d just worn to his dance practice with the rest of the members. He came to a stop next to you in the lift and offered you a cheeky smile.

“Thank you for waiting! I didn’t want to take the next lift by myself, and I haven’t seen you for ages! How are you?” He beamed at you as the elevator doors closed. You felt your heart clench at how adorable he was; Baekhyun was like a beacon of happiness and light that made everyone around him feel happy and loved. Many people had described him as a hyperactive puppy, and you couldn’t help but agree. Even his face was cute and puppy-like, sort of like this face, 'ㅅ', but somehow more adorable.

“I’m great, thank you!” You told him, but he squinted at you, pouting his lips as his eyes scanned over your face. “What? What is it?” You asked, puzzled at what he might be thinking. He laughed.

“Rough day at work?” He asked, the corner of his lips slightly quirking up. You laughed, shocked that he was able to tell this just from your face.

“You can say that again,” you laughed, exhaustedly running a hand through your hair, remembering the events that had played out earlier in the day. “Technically, you caused it.” You joked. His eyes widened, hands flying over his heart as he looked at you.

“What?!” He questioned, face scrunching in mock-upset. “What did I do this time?” He pouted. Seriously, how was it possible for someone to be this adorable?!

“This girl was after your poster, but I had the impossible job of trying to keep her calm after telling her that it had sold out,” you explained, noticing how Baekhyun’s face had broken into a soft smile.

“Well you know, I _am_ very popular!” He told you, puffing out his chest and cutely wiggling his eyebrows. You let out a breathy laugh, shaking your head as you walked out of the elevator which had now come to a stop.

“Hey!” He shouted after you, running adorably to keep up with you, falling into step with you when he arrived back at your side. You were now walking through the bottom floor of the SM building, the café full of k-pop fans eating dinner in one of their favourite buildings. You realised with a smile that this was one of your favourite buildings too. The fans turned around in awe as they saw Baekhyun walking through the café, taking out their phones to take photos and videos as they appreciated how handsome he was in real life. Your face broke into a smile as he ran towards the glass cabinet next to the till, slapping his hands onto the glass as he looked intently at the selection of freshly baked cakes inside. He turned his head to look at you, cutely beckoning you over to come and look at the sweet treats inside the cabinet.

You strolled over, trying to act as cool and collected as possible in front of the dozens of k-pop fans sitting just a few metres away, watching yours and Baekhyun’s every move. You hoped that nobody would start any rumours about the two of you; you were good friends, and had been since you started working there. You smiled to yourself, recalling the first time the two of you had met - Baekhyun had run into the gift shop at such a velocity that he knocked over the new Red Velvet display, and you both ended up having to clean it up. That’s where your friendship had sparked - almost every time he’d seen you since that incident, he offered you a cheeky and somewhat apologetic smile, still slightly ashamed at the incident that had caused you to meet. Now, almost two years later, you were both standing, looking at the cakes in the cabinet, considering which ones you wanted to buy.

“I want that one!” Baekhyun exclaimed, pointing at a cupcake with an abundant amount of frosting, and an EXO logo placed on top. You giggled and lightly pushed him.

“You can’t buy that cake just because you’re in EXO!” You told him, but he just pouted at you cutely.

“Yes I can!” He told you, and turned to the woman behind the till, asking her for one of the EXO cupcakes. You shook your head again, before asking the woman for a slice of Red Velvet cake. The woman put both of your cakes in little boxes, and handed them to you as Baekhyun handed over the money. You were about to hand her the money for your cake, when Baekhyun stopped you.

“No need! I just paid for you!” He beamed at you as you looked at him in disbelief.

“I- what- are you sure?!” You asked him as he smiled at you kindly.

“Of course! We’re good friends and I wanted to buy something for you.... especially to apologise for knocking over that display in the gift shop....” he added sheepishly. You laughed and gently pushed his arm.

“You need to stop dwelling on that!” You told him as he put your cake boxes in a carrier bag and started walking out of the café.

“Hey! Then I’ll take your cake back!” He joked, grinning at you as you laughed at him as the two of you walked out of the SM building and onto the cold streets of Gangnam. You could see your breath in the winter air, and you were thankful that you were on your way to your warm apartment. However, this happiness ended quickly as you realised that going home would mean that you’d have to say goodbye to Baekhyun. You realised that you’d zoned out of your conversation when you heard Baekhyun say your name, and he waved his hand in front of your face.

“Sorry,” you said, “I was just thinking about... something....”

“What is it?” He pushed, and you knew that he would keep asking until you told him, so there was no point keeping it from him. You sighed.

“It’s just.... I’ve had a bad day and it’s been really nice and relaxing talking to you... it kind of sucks that we have to go home now and I probably won’t be able to see you for ages....” you admitted to him. Silence prevailed for a few seconds, and you worried that you’d been overly-friendly with him or that you’d scared him, until he finally spoke up.

“Hey, I know it’s probably a bit late-notice, but would you want to come back to the EXO apartment? We’re having a movie night tonight and I was wondering if you’d be interested?” He slowly asked you, hope in his voice. You felt your face break into a smile as your chest filled with warmth. You immediately abandoned your plans for a cosy evening by yourself as you nodded happily at him.

“I’d love to, if that’s okay with the rest of the members?” You tried your best to conceal your excitement; EXO had always been your favourite group, and, although you’d spoken to most of them a few times before, you weren’t exactly close friends with any of them, and you worried it’d be a bit awkward if you turned up at their apartment out of the blue.

“They’ll be fine with it! I’ll just text Junmyeon about it now!” He told you, pulling out his phone and texting the leader, who you noticed had been saved endearingly as ‘Myeonie-hyung‘ in Baekhyun’s phone. You wondered if there was anyone else in this world who was this cute. Junmyeon replied in a few minutes, saying that it was completely fine and that the members were looking forward to seeing you - you released the breath you didn’t realise you were holding and began to relax.

The walk to EXO’s apartment was peaceful - you and Baekhyun strolled down the streets of Gangnam, chatting about different things and laughing together about various stories you both told. Luckily, nobody recognised Baekhyun, as he was now wearing a black cap and a black anti-dust mask to conceal his identity.

The streets became less and less busy as you approached the EXO apartment building, and you felt a nervousness settle in your stomach. Despite Baekhyun’s insisting, you still felt like you were intruding on something you shouldn’t be there for, but you tried to ignore this doubt and waited patiently as Baekhyun tapped in the password for the door to the apartment building.

You walked into the warm hallway of the apartment building, strangely feeling somewhat at home already. The two of you walked up two flights of stairs and down a corridor before stopping outside the door of an apartment.

Baekhyun rang the bell and stepped back, turning to smile at you, mouthing ‘Don’t worry!’ at you, as if reading your thoughts. The door opened, and Minseok stood there, smiling at you and Baekhyun.

“Hey!” Minseok said to you, “I haven’t seen you in ages! Junmyeon said you were coming - we’re all super excited! Come on in, it’s warm in here!” He said, stepping backwards to let you into the warm hallway of EXO’s apartment. Baekhyun smiled at you as he took his shoes and coat off, walking off into the living room with Minseok, leaving you to take of your shoes and coat in the hallway.

You looked around; the apartment had a warm and homely feel about it - there were pictures of the members with their family members on the walls, and various souvenirs from trips and gifts from fans displayed around the house. You felt immediately at ease, and followed to where Baekhyun and Minseok had disappeared to. You were met with an incredibly adorable sight.

The EXO members were all sat on the floor in front of the sofa, talking and playfully bickering with each other under piles of fluffy blankets, surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of cushions and pillows. They turned around as you walked in, excitedly waving at you, welcoming you to their apartment. You noticed that they were all dressed in their pyjamas, and moments later, Baekhyun appeared in his pyjamas too. Looking at the cosy sight before you, you began to feel incredibly overdressed in your work clothes. You cursed the fact that you hadn’t even thought to go home and change clothes before you came here. However, it seemed like Baekhyun was reading your mind again, as he beckoned you over to him.

“You don’t have to, but do you want to borrow some of my pyjamas? Chanyeollie got me some pyjamas with strawberry print on them for Christmas, but they were too small for me.” He explained, dodging a cushion that Chanyeol threw at him, sticking his tongue out cheekily at him. He turned back to you. “Would you like to borrow them?” You felt yourself smiling at how adorable he was, and you accepted his offer. He went away and appeared a few minutes later, holding the neatly-folded set of pyjamas. He was right - they were covered in a strawberry print, and they were clearly too small for him. You thanked him as he handed them to you and directed you to the bathroom down the corridor so you could get changed.

As you changed into the pyjamas, you laughed quietly to yourself as you realised that they were far too big for you - you rolled up the ends of the sleeves and the ends of the legs so you weren’t treading on them, and you walked out of the bathroom, down the corridor, and into the living room.

The EXO members turned around as you walked in, smiling and shouting “Ahh! So cute!!” at you as you walked into the room, trying to hide your red cheeks and your happy smile. Baekhyun beamed up at you, and said, “They look good on you! So cute!!”

He patted the space on the floor next to him, and you sat down, incredibly comfy surrounded by cushions and pillows, and covered with warm blankets. You felt warm, cosy, and most of all, happy. Even though you’d had a somewhat tough day at work, you realised that, overall, you’d had an incredible day, and you’d re-live it in a heartbeat.

The rest of the members had finally decided on a film to watch, settling on watching the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy from the beginning. You knew you’d be there for a while, so you decided to get comfy, pulling the blanket up over your stomach and snuggling into the pillows that surrounded you. Baekhyun noticed and offered you an endearing smile, stretching his arm out behind you, and pulling you to rest your head on this shoulder. You felt your heart start to beat faster - you could feel yourself falling for his adorable charm every minute.

“Is this okay?” He asked quietly as the film started. You nodded, and he pulled you closer, snuggling against you as you both started to focus on the film. You’d seen it dozens of times, so you found your attention slipping instead to the warmth of Baekhyun’s body next to you, his arm around your shoulder. He seemed to sense this and he looked down at you, smiling at you and scrunching his nose cutely before turning his attention back to the film.

A little while later, Junmyeon tapped your shoulder and asked you kindly if you’d like to stay the night in one of the spare rooms. You thought about it for a second - it was a Friday night, so you didn’t have work tomorrow, and it would be too late to get home now anyway. You gratefully accepted, trying to conceal your happiness.

When you turned back to look at Baekhyun, he was already looking at you. “Yay!” He whispered to you, and you felt your heart fill with warmth again. You tapped out a quick text to your best friend; she had a key to your apartment, and you asked her if she would be able to bring you your toiletries and some spare clothes for you to change into in the morning. She quickly replied, saying that it was fine, so you thanked her before putting your phone down, switching your focus back to the film.

A little while later, Chanyeol piped up, pouting and complaining that he was hungry, his stomach grumbling as if on cue. Jongin laughed and poked Chanyeol with an outstretched foot, as Junmyeon looked around and asked everyone what they wanted to eat.

“PIZZA!!!!”, Baekhyun shouted over the rest of the members. Everyone laughed, and Junmyeon reached for his phone to order pizza for the whole group. Half an hour later, the doorbell rang, and Jongdae went to the door to retrieve the boxes of pizza. He walked back in, shouting “Pizzaaaaaaaa!”, and both Baekhyun and Chanyeol joined in while Jongin and Minseok cheered loudly. You covered your ears, laughing at how ridiculously loud everyone was due to the presence of food.

A box of pizza was passed over to you and Baekhyun, and you both took a slice and began to eat. Somehow, even though you’d eaten pizza hundreds of times, this seemed like the best pizza you’d ever eaten. Baekhyun grabbed another slice from the box and held it in front of you.

“Open wide!” He demanded, and you laughed as you opened your mouth for Baekhyun to feed you the pizza. You thanked him, and he beamed at you again before taking another slice for himself.

The pizza was soon gone, and the members talked amongst themselves, the film now forgotten as they argued what they should do on their weekend off. You and Baekhyun talked amongst yourselves, before you finally gathered the courage to ask him for his phone number. He wiggled his eyebrows cheekily, and you hit his shoulder jokingly as he shook with laughter. After a while, everyone started to settle down again, and continued to watch the film. Everything soon became quiet and peaceful as everyone focused on the film, feeling happy and content after eating lots of delicious food.

An hour later, you looked up at Baekhyun, your heart warming as you realised he was now asleep, his head tilted back, his mouth slightly open. He looked like a little puppy, so peaceful and gentle, and you pulled the blanket further up his lap, wanting to protect him and look after him.

Looking around, you noticed a few other members were nodding off too - it was late, nearly midnight, so it was no surprise to you that the members were beginning to fall asleep. However, soon after, you felt yourself slipping into sleep as well.

You let yourself be enveloped by the warmth and comfort of sleep, content with the knowledge that Baekhyun was right next to you, and he wasn’t going anywhere.


End file.
